The first 6 seconds of the video consists of an obscure camera angle, which may be intentional despite it looking unintentional, because all we hear is the band getting ready to perform (we can't see them) on a sandy yellow setting (possibly a desert). This is proven when we hear one of the band members (most likely Brandon Flowers) saying "yeah, hang on," as though they're not ready yet. The whole meaning of this short section could be just to show a behind-the-scenes clip to set up the video, because the next shot is clearly signifying that the video has truly started. The mentioned shot is a possible mid-shot of the 'k' from the band's title suddenly lighting up in synchronisation with the first instance of music; the tune of a guitar. After, an establishing shot of a desert sets the scene for the video, with the golden and yellow palette implying a mostly positive and bright tone. In the same shot, Brandon Flowers (lead singer) is seen walking by and stopping, framed between two large boulders, which emits a slightly eccentric feel, such as the superficial question; why is he in the desert? Could it signify that because it's a vast landscape, there's the chance to be alone and expressive without any judgement from anybody else? And because the song could be implying a sort of 'transition' from being a normal, average human being to being a dancer; a spontaneous person, who could be idiosyncratic in nature, and with the band being in the desert, a very unusual setting, could emphasise that 'dancer.'
Following this is a series of mid-shots of Flowers singing, with a stage light behind him to emphasise his presence, that we should be focusing on him. There's a dissolving transition in between these mid-shots that shows four self-portraits of the band on stands, from a long shot. I can't exactly interpret the meaning of this, even with the lyrics corresponding to this scene; "sometimes I get nervous, when I see an open door."It could be to do with the positioning of the portraits (two closer to the camera, and two further from the camera), but of that, I'm dubious. Next is a return to Brandon, this time shown from a more close-up shot and the camerawork is more loose, eventually panning up to catch a bird flying past, shot with a more steady angle and there's the familiar distinction of look between Flowers and the bird, as he is wearing a suit with golden feathers circling the collar. The bird is a black colour, yet there's a golden tail. Could it be that he wants to fly away like the bird does, which is implied with the line "cut the cord" as the bird is shown, which most likely means to cut yourself off from the world and be a 'dancer.' From this scene (0:43 seconds in) up to the 1:10 mark, there are multiple transitions between each band member performing, shown from mid and long shots as well as a slight close-up shot, with every shot circling the performer. Each guitar stroke corresponds with the transitions, creating a rhythmic and synchronised relationship between sound and vision. At the end of this scene, Brandon punches the air (from a possible long shot) as a sudden loud beat is heard, giving way for the instrumental.
During the instrumentals, we're shown, from birds-eye shots, mid-shots and long shots, a Tiger and a Lion roaming the desert, with intercutting shots of the band, as though to imply that we are the animals in the desert.
As the singing returns, we are presented with a multiple Vignette style framing of different shots of the band playing, with the style of the appearance of these frames paralleling the rhythmic beat. Eventually, four of the frames are replaced by mosaic self-portraits of the band members (the YouTube thumbnail image above), obviously referring to the mosaic pattern of the 'Day & Age' album art, which is also an image of a desert (or an oasis), as well as the self-portraits being the single art for 'Human,' 'Spaceman,' 'The World we Live In' and 'A Dustland Fairytale.' The camera hovers around the set, putting instruments such as the cymbals into centre frame as well as Brandon also being framed in subsequent shots, with another appearance of the bird, circling the band. It's clear that this video focuses on the band performance more than anything, which is a rather frequently applied convention of indie/alternative music videos, like with Kyla la Grange's 'Walk Through Walls,' and Mika's 'Grace Kelly,' despite the vast majority of indie videos focusing on symbolic or plot-based scenes, hardly ever showing the artist's performance. Also, with the whole tone of the video awash in golds, browns and yellows, we know that it's a video expressing a positive coda. We see again the Lion walking for a few seconds, which seems to raise a question: is it walking towards the band?
A wide shot (from a fair distance) of the band obscuring their faces with their mosaic self-portraits still reveals their identities, yet seems to distort them because the division between the darkness of their clothing and the more colourful portraits could be interpreted that they're more mindfully artistic. However, the line "are we human" at this point could be reflected by this scene, because it could even be interpreted that the band are hiding their faces with portraits so that we can't see their true faces, which may not be 'human,' so to speak.
Then a high angle shot establishes the set on which they're performing, which is then followed by the band with the portraits again, however this time they're swapping with each other; taking on a new identity. Could this imply a swap (or transition) from being 'human' to being a 'dancer' because they're not themselves anymore, but somebody else. For around 7 seconds after this scene, the camera loosely (again) hovers around the set, capturing each band member performing, shown with some closing in shots, which possibly begins to imply that there's a bigger reason for why the video looms upon the performance and hardly any other scenes shot outside that area. It links to the Lion walking towards an undisclosed location. Is it the band? Can the animal hear the music?
After this, the music builds up to a more faster pace, shown with 15 seconds of high angle shots of Flowers and the band, which could imply that because the music and the speed is building up, the high angle affectively emphasises that. The build-up is held with a sudden drop to the original, slower pace, with a long shot of the band which applies the contra-zoom effect (see Vertigo and Jaws) to make it seem that they're even further away, and they're without the stage setting. It seems expressionistic because of the setting: a desert; a vast open landscape where, if you were alone in it, the contra-zoom emphasises the distance of it (this reason may be insubstantial).
The camera then returns to Flowers singing in a kneeled pose, holding the wire of the microphone with a tightness, making it taut, as though he's under tension and stressed (which I don't exactly know how to interpret it). Then, as we hear "looking for the answer," the same shot of the two boulders framing Flowers is revisited, this time with him walking, then stopping to look ahead, and then continuing to walk, which implies the "looking for the answer" despite us not entirely knowing what that is.
The music builds again for around 8 seconds, then suddenly being met with a drop in beat which gives way to another chorus. The chorus consists of slow dissolving transitions between the band (shown from high and low angles, as well as continuous shots) and very high angles of a desert mountain/hill to emphasise the enormity of the setting.
The chorus repeats and fades towards the end of the video, repeating the line "are we human, or are we dancer," along with a single shot of the Tiger that was introduced before the Lion was (I don't know why the Lion was shown more frequently, however), positioned in the same background with the self-portraits mounted on stands, which presents the Tiger in a close-up, taking up most of the frame from the left, with enough space on the right to define the familiar background. It could be viewed as an exodus of human qualities and being exchanged for qualities that metaphorically represent freedom (of the mind); the Tiger, because it's a wild animal, it's free, and spontaneous (we don't know how it'll act), like a dancer. The desert also reflects that possible interpretation of freedom, as well as the portraits turning off (lights), which could also be signifying the end of the video.
The video ends with a low angle of the band standing and looking at a mosaic sun in an evening sky (the colour is too orange to be the moon), which is an odd, yet artistic image which mirrors the 'Day & Age' album art. The whole setting then transforms into a mosaic pattern, which proves that it mirrors the album art, as this final image is the end of the video.
'Human' was 'Day & Age's most successful track, so this still shot of the mosaic desert landscape could be promoting the album by referring to the successful song through the album cover.
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